A giant snake caused panic after it was spotted slithering on the loose at a popular public garden.
But bosses were left red-faced when it emerged they had used a plastic lookalike for a PR stunt.
The prank, which was meant to encourage visitors, had social media users reacting with alarm.
After a pic of the “boa constrictor” accompanied by a “do not approach” warning was posted online, one woman even claimed she had cancelled a booking for an event at the site.
Facebook user Jill Tait chipped in: “I won’t be visiting anytime soon if there are snakes.”
Susan Earnshaw added: “My granddaughter is there with her school, she will be terrified.”
The snake, at Alnwick Garden, Northumberland was part of its Easter “Round the World” trail. After the reaction, the park quickly backtracked.
A follow-up post said: "Oops. We were only taking the HISS!
"Oops! Our mis-Snake! Looks like we've all been duped by our new Easter Trail Around The World in 18 Days.
"We simply couldn't resist sharing a sneak peak in an unconventional way!"
This comes after a homeowner was left terrified when a real seven foot snake appeared from under their sofa.
Alex Trejo, owner of a snake removal company, described receiving the frantic call from the terrified California resident.
Trejo said: "This guy calls me, is pretty frantic and he’s like, ‘There’s a snake in my couch'".
The snake whisperer admitted that even he was shocked at how the massive snake had been hiding in someone's living room.
Trejo explained that he lifted a cushion to find a "giant seven foot Vietnamese blue beauty rat snake" coiled up underneath.
"You’d be more lucky to find a Rolex sitting on the ground than a snake like this,” he explained.
The beast even tried to bite Trejo as it was being removed, but luckily only caught the lining of his shirt.
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